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"I have to get home. I have my first Project Boyfriend date tonight, so my roommates need to make me over."
"Good luck with that."
"Thanks. I have a feeling I'll need it."
If I had to meet a guy Gemma was sure was the One—with a capital letter—today was as good a day as any. The day's events had left me feeling bold and confident, which was better than the nervous way I usually approached dates.
Gemma was already home when I got there. She must have taken off early, just for the occasion. "Are you excited about tonight?" she asked.
I didn't have to fake excitement. I just had to fake what I was excited about. "Yeah.
It's already been a great day."
"Get in the shower, and then you can tell me all about it while I do your hair and makeup."
Half an hour later I sat in front of the dresser in our bedroom with my hair up in a towel while Gemma worked on my makeup. "I'm going for a fresh-faced girl-next-door look, so you just look nice, not like you've got a lot of makeup on,"
she said. "That should appeal to Keith."
"He's a guy. If he notices the nuances of my makeup job, he's probably not straight."
She acted like she didn't hear me. She was too busy taking the towel off my head and combing out the tangles. "I wish we'd had time to do highlights."
"If he hates me on sight because I don't have highlights, I don't want him."
Still ignoring my bad attitude, she asked, "So, what happened today that had you so excited?"
"I got a promotion at work. A big one."
"Congratulations! What's your new job?"
"I'm assistant to one of the top executives." I decided against saying I'd been promoted to be the top boss's assistant because that was so big it would raise too many questions. People just didn't rise from being an ordinary administrative assistant to being the CEO's right-hand person in the space of one month.
"That's super! See, I told you that last place you worked didn't appreciate you.
Now, hold still."
I closed my eyes and tried to ignore the curling iron and goodness knew what else she was doing to my hair to make it look "natural." Then I reminded myself that I was going through this so I could get to a point where I wouldn't have to go through this as often. That fantasy of wearing sweats and watching an old movie was looking better and better.
Finally, I met with Gemma's approval. Marcia got home from work and gave her thumbs-up. "I still can't believe you're sending me out on my own like this," I complained before they shoved me out the door.
"When you meet in a group, it takes on a just-for-fun atmosphere," Gemma explained. "One-on-one is serious. Now go and be brilliant."
That was easy for her to say. Dating came naturally to her. I could talk easily to the guys at work, but put me across a table from a man in a situation where there were no legal pads or PowerPoint presentations involved and I froze. I couldn't remember the last real one-on-one date I'd been on. I was twenty-six years old, and there were high school freshmen with more dating experience than I had.
At least they'd picked a restaurant fairly close by, near Union Square. I could make an escape without having to hail a cab. As I walked to the restaurant, I noticed a gargoyle on top of a nearby building, and I'd never seen one there before. I didn't think it was Sam, though. This one had a different profile, more of a birdlike beak instead of Sam's grotesque humanlike face.
It was a chilly night, and a blast of hot air hit me in the face when I entered the restaurant. The place was already crowded, packed wall-to-wall with people waiting for a table. How was I supposed to find my date in this mob?
A tall, handsome man with wavy chestnut hair walked toward me. I automatically glanced behind me to see which supermodel he was approaching, but he looked me in the eye and said, "Katie Chandler?"
I gulped. Gemma didn't mess around when it came to looking for the One. "You're Keith?" I didn't mean it to sound like an incredulous question, but that's the way it came out. I never got set up with guys like this.
He gave me a smile that turned my insides to jelly and reached to shake my hand.
"Nice to meet you."
"Uh-huh" was all I was capable of saying.
